General Dynamics

RANK83

General Dynamics climbed nine places on the Fortune 500 this year, quite an accomplishment for a company that’s been on the list since its inception. Revenues were up 8.7%, year-over-year, to $39.4 billion; profits, though, lagged some competitors', growing just 4.2% for the year. One big win was in tanks and weapons systems, where sales were up 12.3% for the year. That uptick came despite a diplomatic imbroglio between Canada’s government and Saudi Arabia that delayed payment on part of a $13 billion contract to sell armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia. (The dispute was resolved in April 2020.) But GD’s information technology segment stalled out at just 1.9% growth. So far, 2020 is off to a mixed start: Coronavirus-related travel restrictions and production problems hammered GD’s first-quarter aerospace revenues, especially the core Gulfstream business jet line, while IT sales slumped even further.